The present invention relates generally to electronics, electronics circuits or devices and, more particularly to shielding for such things.
Electronic components, circuits or devices and also measuring, detection and similar devices sensitive to interference by electromagnetic radiation require a screen against the electromagnetic fields present at the operational site in order to ensure a problem free operation. They are therefore accommodated in screening cases which comprise conductive material in the walls and act as a Faraday cage.
Such casings are also used for equipment or components which, themselves, emit electromagnetic rays that must be excluded from the environment, in order for example, to prevent the emission of secret information or the malfunction of external appliances. Moreover, such casings can be used for equipment which can cause a fire safety problem by shielding the environment in case the equipment inside the casing causes the fire safety problem situation by, for example a short cut or over heating, etc. As the electromagnetic shielding, the fire shielding can also work vice versa protecting the electrical device inside.
Today such a screening against the emission or irradiation of EMI must be more effective the more electronic apparatuses are operated and the greater the proximity at which these apparatuses must operate next to each other. Finally, the continuous increase in performance and sensitivity of such equipment also necessitates an improvement of the screening measures for which increasingly less space is available, since the relevant appliances must, moreover, be miniaturized. Thus, apart from the actual operational properties of electronic appliances, the xe2x80x9celectromagnetic compatibilityxe2x80x9d thereof is today a significant factor determining quality. In addition, for some thorough shielding there must be robust and completely surrounding shielding for, for example for fire protection. Thus, the shielding situation can vary from micro- to complete use device approach.
If, as is mostly the case in practice, the casings are multi-part constructions which must be capable of being opened occasionally (e.g. in order to renew the energy source or for maintenance purposes), it is necessary to provide the parts of the casing to be separated from each other during opening and to be reconnected again during closing, with any kind of seals, e.g. elastic conductive seals, by screws or fastening, or by a complex mechanical structure such as lids with some kind of locking mechanism in order to achieve an effective screening.
A problem with the multi-part construction of the casing is that as there are many pieces or more than one piece, they are complex and complex in structure, and, therefore, expensive to manufacture. This is especially significant when the manufactured amounts are in millions as the case typically is in commonplace electrical devices.
A patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,014 B1 presents one approach to provide a screening seal to fill a gap between two adjacent housing parts for accommodating electronic functional elements therein. However, there is still being required at least two parts for the casing, namely a housing (reference numeral 1 in the publication) or casing and a lid, a cap or a cover (reference numeral 4 in the publication), and the essential seal therebetween. The structure of the reference is complex, for example the manufactured mechanical hinge is required hinging the housing and the cover.
In view of various inherent limitations of shielding cans and casings, it would be desirable to avoid or mitigate these and other problems associated with prior art systems. Thus, there is a need for techniques to provide a encapsulation for electrical component(s) in one piece manufacture.
Now a method and an encapsulation have been invented where the encapsulation for electrical component(s) is provided in one piece manufacture.
In accordance with a aspects of the invention there is provided a one-piece manufactured shielding casing for accommodating electronic functional elements, comprising: a functional lid which is adapted to be manufactured to the one-piece manufactured shielding casing in such a way that the lid comprises a functional part of the one-piece manufactured shielding casing, and the lid can be breakably and releasably opened yet maintaining a bendable hinge.
In a preferred arrangement, a thin-film manufacture is provided for shielding electronic functional element(s) from interference or a fire. The manufactured shielding casing is made in a complete one-piece manufacture containing both a housing and a functional lid or a cover in one piece. When manufactured, the shielding casing contains the electronic functional element inside ready for application as shielded.
A benefit of the embodied invention provides a solution where the complete shielding casing is a single manufactured item. The shielding housing does not have to be removed from the module. There is also provided a more manufacturing friendly solution as the entire shielding casing is ready for operation to shield the electronic functional element and is cheaper to manufacture. This reflects to the entire production line, as production is more adroit, design can be more flexible and required tools for manufacture are simpler. In addition, in a manufacturing process the shielding casing can be moved from the eccentric or off-center press to the reel, and no addition temporary intermediate storage is required in the manufacturing process. Moreover, if compared to the two-piece manufacture, no specific manufacture processes for two components (cover and housing) are required.
For better understanding of the present invention reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and its scope will be pointed out in the appending claims.